Public Space design and research based in Amsterdam. Connect with us via the links below.

If I could Design London….

Design for London asked KCAP provide an answer to “If I could design London I would…..” KCAP asked me to complete the task and this was the result. This was exhibited at Somerset House as part of Architecture Week 2008, and formed the basis for a Lecture entitled ‘Futureproof’ I presented at the Bartlett School of Architecture in November 2008.

Step 1:
Position London as the anchor of a North Sea renewable energy network harvesting vast energy potentials, while simultaneously locating the 15 ‘Eco-towns’ within the cities boundaries. The foundation for a balanced low-carbon city.

Step 2:
Expand the administrative boundaries to include the green belt: protect it, create the first national productive landscape indispensable to the health of the city. Improve connections between it and London’s inhabitants, converting negative space into positive active places. Ensure a diversity of uses including recreation, wilderness, food production and renewable energy.

Step 3:
Form a symbiosis between the city and its infrastructures, spaces, food production, weather, energy systems, buildings, biodiversity and inhabitants.

Step 4:
Plan for 2048 based on the Abercrombie map of 1948. New centres of growth are defined focusing on transport hubs and cycling networks, while strengthening the identity and vibrancy of existing areas.

Step 5:
Work with an urban form that is open intuitive and responsive to its inhabitants needs. The city as a loft make building types and urban frameworks that can respond to change, accommodating different uses, densities, lifestyle patterns and demographics.

Step 6:
Promote the rich and diverse cultural life of London, enshrine its position as a global metropolis, use this potential to foster innovation across cultural, scientific, economic and social spheres.